Robert i



(No Model.)

R. I. VEIRPL'ANOK.

RAILWAY RAIL JOINT.

No. 421,456. Patented Feb'. I8, 1890.

mIn

UNITED STATES ATENT OEEICE.

ROBERT I. VERPLANOK, OF ALBANY, NFV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TOVILLIAM T. MAYER, OF SAME PLACE.

RAI LWAY-RAI L JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,456, dated February18, 1890.

Application led July 9, 1889- Seiial No. 316,935. (No model.)

'To all wiz/0m it may concern.-

Be it known that l, ROBERT I. VERPLANCK, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of Albany, in the county of Albanyand State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Railway-Rail Joint, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the joints or connections of theline of rails on a railway; and the objects of said invention are,iirst, to hold the ends of adjacent rails firmly and rigidly togetherwith a continuous level surface on which the wheels of the train may runsmoothly; second, to make a joint that is easily applied and put intoposition and easily adjusted and tightened and as easily taken off, ifdesired; and, third, to make a joint that can be manufactured cheaplywithout loss of strength in the joint itself or iinpairing the strengthof the rails in its application thereto. I attain these objects by themechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several gures.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents the rail-joint in its position onthe rails, A and A being parts of two rails to be joined together at Sby my said invention, with said rail A out off at the end of the jointto show a crosssection view at that point. B and B are two side and bedplates, each consisting of a single piece of metal rolled, cast, orswaged in the peculiar shape shown in said drawings, for the purposes ofmy invention. C and C are two bottom or Vclamp plates to fit under theside and bed plates B and B and hold them together, and each being madewith projections or lips on the upper surface, as is more clearly shownin Fig. 2. D is a wedge to be placed between the two bottom orclampplates O and O,holding them apart. In Fig. 1 said joint is shown asresting on an ordi- `nary tie or sleeper E of the track and with thespike F driven behind the broad end of said wedge D, holding it in placewhen the joint is in position on the rails. Fig. 2 represents one ofsaid bottom or clamp plates C and C. Fig. 3 represents said wedge D .butturned upside down for. convenience in drawing. Fig. i represents saidjoint in position under the top or upper members of the rails to the webor shank K of said rail, but leave a small space between the web orshank of the rail and the inner lateral surface of the said plates B andB', in order to allow the upper bearing-surface L upon the said platesto move closely to said web or shank when it is desired to tighten thejoint. The outer lateral surface of said side and bed plates maybe madecurved from the upper to the lower edge, as shown in the drawings, orotherwise, and the inner lateral surface may or may not have aprojection, as shown at X in Fig. 1 of the drawings, to increase thebearing on the upper surface of the lower member or iiange of the rails.Each of said side and bed plates B and B is provided with an opening ordeep groove in its lower part on the inner side thereof, as shown at Min said Fig. l. This opening is tapering, being broader at its mouththan at theV bottom of the groove, and extends from end to end of -theplate and forms a beveled bearing-surface to iit over and under thelower member or flange of the rails. This opening is also preferably soconstructed that the said bearing-surfaces shall meet the lower memberor iiange of the rails before it enters to the entire depth of saidopening or groove and before the proj ection X (forming a part of theupper bearing-surface of said groove) comes in contact with the web orshank K of the rail to enable said joint to be further tightcned, ifdesired.

The outer longitudinal lower edge of each of said sideand bed plates Band B' is represented in Fig. l by the letters T, H, and U. It is madeso that the transverse width of the lower part of said side and bedplates B and B i is considerably greater at the extremities at T and Uthan at the center at H. This is accomplished by making saidlongitudinal lower edge or side either concave and curving outward fromthe center at II toward the ends at T and U, or by a bevel or fiareoutward toward said ends, making an obtuse angle at the center H. Bythis means when said side and bed platesB and B are applied to oppositesides of the rails to be joined the bottom or clamp plates C and C canbe easily slipped or put into place under said plates B and B at theircenter at I-I, and when moved apart the projections P and P on saidbottom or clamp plates C and C will form a bearing-surface on theconcave, beveled, or .flaring longitudinal lower edge T I'I U, and thefarther apart said clamps or bottom plates are driven the more firmlyand rigidly they will hold together the side and bed plates B and Bembracing the rails, and by means of this concavity or angle in theouter longitudinal lower edge of said side and bed plates B and B saidjoint may be easily tightened, loosened, or wholly removed by movingsaid bottom or clamp plates C and C farther apart or nearer together,thus facilitating the laying of track, the insertion of new rails, andthe adjustment of the joint. In practice I prefer to make said lowerlongitudinal edge T II U also either slightly beveled or curved upwardto meet a similar bevel or curve on the inner bearing-surface of theprojections P and P on said bottom or clamp plates C and C', so as toincrease the hold or purchase of said clamp-plates thereon; but it maybe made in any manner so that said projections will obtain such a holdon the beveled or concave outer longitudinal lower edge of the plates Band B.

In both Figs. 1 and 4C myinvention is shown as applied to rails asordinarily used on American railroads. In case it is desired to applythis joint to rails of the style usually used in England, where thelower member is the same or substantially similar to the upper member,the form of the opening or groove in the lower part of the plates B andB may be altered by making it larger and less tapering; but said platesremain otherwise substantially the same, and they may be' made of suchheight, size, or length as is desired and to fit any size of rail.

The bottom or clamp plates C and C are more clearly illustrated in Fig.2. These are each made of a single piece of metal with projections orlips P and P formed on the upper surface thereof to fit and form abearing-surface on and hold the two side and bed plates B and B togetherin their position on either side of the rails. Each of these projectionsP and P is made taperingor curved in such a manner that it is wider atone vend than at the other, and each tapers or curves toward the outeredges p and p', as shown in Fig. 2, so that the upper -surface ofthesaid bottom or clamp plate and the opening Z between the two projectionsP and P is wider on the side c than on the inner side c', and

vping out of place.

the two bottom or clamp plates C and C are placed in position under theside and bed plates B and B so that the two narrower openings betweenthe projections are adjacent to each other. By this construction thebevel orcurve on the inner surface of said projections P and P forms, abearing-surface upon the outer longitudinal lower beveled or concaveedge T II U of each of the side and bed plates B and B.

The inner bearing-surface N of the proj ections P and P', I prefer alsoto make beveled, curved, or fiaring outward and upward from the base ofeach projection to the top thereof, the more firmly to hold the saidouter longitudinal lower edge T H U of the side and bed plates B and Bbut said projections P and P may be made in any form so as to tight-1yhold the said side and bed plates together when applied thereto. Theinner side of each of said bottom or clamp plates C and C, having thenarrower opening between the proj ections, may be made beveled orcurving to prevent the wedge between them from drop- In practice Iprefer to make on each of the inner sides ofV said bottom or clampplates a projection or dovetail, as shown at O in said Fig. 2, to fitunder and hold up a similar projection or dovetail on said wedge D.

The wedgeD is shown at Fig. 3. It is also made of a single piece ofmetal, and in application to the joint the' narrow end is placed betweenthe bottom or clamp plates C and C', and it is then driven in far enoughto force said bottom or clamp plates C and C apart until thebearing-surfaces on the innersides of the proj ectionsP and P thereonhold the two side and bed plates B and B embracing said rails firmly andrigidly against said rails. By this means, in a rail-joint constructedac` cording to this specification, the compensatA ing action of thewedge is applied evenly to the several parts of the joint at thebearingsurface L under the top or upper member of the rail, givingsupport where most needed; at the opening or groove in the lower part ofthe side and bed plates, holding firmly the lower member of the railabove and below, and also 'on the curved or beveled outer lower edge ofthe side and bed plates to hold them firmly in position. Vhen' saidwedge is driven sufficiently far between the bottom or clamp plates, itmay be held in position by any suitable device to secure it firmly inits place; but I prefer in the practical application of my invention toplace said jointA upon a tie or sleeper and drive a spike behind thebroad end of said wedge D, so that in case it is desired to tighten thejoint the wedge may be' driven in slightly farther and a spike driven tohold it in its new position. In case no tie is put under the join-t,said wedge may be secured in position by a bolt or bolts or othersuitable device. v I preferalso, in the practical application of myinvention, to make said wedge with a projection or dovetail, as shownIOO IIO

at R in Fig. 3, to meet and overlap a corresponding projection ordovetail on the inner sides of the bottom or clamp plates C and C, asshown in Fig. 2; but any similar device may be used to prevent itsslipping down out of place.

In order to prevent the joint when in position On the rails fromslipping laterally in applying my invention, a spike may be driven intothe tie behind each end of the bottom or clamp plates C and C', as shownin Fig. l, or a slight incision made in the lower member or flange ofthe rail at the point where the end of the joint will come, and with theblow of a hammer a lip or projection formed to prevent any creeping orlateral movement of the joint. Such a device is shown at Y in Figs. land 4: of the drawings.

It is necessary in the practical application ot' my invention, if saidjoint is placed upon a tie, that such tie be placed lower than theadjoining ties, or that a piece be cut out to allow for the thickness ofthe bed and clamp plates beneath the rail.

Having thus described my said invention, I claim by reason thereof, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, as follows:

l. A railway-rail joint consisting of two side and bed plates having theupper edge of each beveled to form a bearing-surface under the uppermember of the rails, and an opening or groove in the lower part of saidplates to form a bearing-surface over and under the lower member of therail and having the lower outer longitudinal edges of said platesconcave, beveled, or flaring outward from the center to the ends,forming a bearing-surface for the projections on each end of two bottomor clamp plates to iit under and to hold together said side and bedplates embracing the rails in combination with said bottom or clampplates, and a wedge to hold them apart, all substantially as set forth.

2. In a railway-rail joint, the combination of bed and side plates withbottom or clamp plates and a wedge, all so constructed that the actionof the wedge driving apart the bottom or clamp plates draws together theside and bed plates embracing the rails, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

ln a railway-rail joint, a side and bed plate having the outer lowerlateral edge concave or beveled and iiaring, substantially as shown, forthe purposes specified.

R. I. VERPLANCK.

Vitnesses:

EDWIN G. DAY, EDWARD W. RANKIN.

